What Is A Single-Page Website?

Date First Published: 23rd January 2023

Topic: Web Design & Development

Subtopic: Web Development

Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 3/10

Learn more about what a single-page website is in this article.

A single-page website, also known as a one-page website, or a one-pager, is a website that only contains one HTML page and no subpages, additional pages, categories, or anything similar. Most one-page websites do not contain menu bars, website footer, or other navigation bars and all of the content is displayed on the homepage.

Advantages and Disadvantages Of Single-Page Websites

A single-page website provides a simple method of displaying content to visitors and is always going to be quicker to create than taking the time to create a multi-page website with smaller pages. In addition, they are more user-friendly on mobile devices as users do not have to go through complicated menus and can find everything on one single page.

However, single-page websites come with some disadvantages. Most websites, especially larger ones, cannot display all of their content on the homepage as doing so would make the page look cluttered and unorganised. In addition, most users don’t like having to scroll down a page for a long time to find the information that they are looking for and the lack of navigation features and subpages will lead to some visitors getting confused by this type of design. Due to this, single-page websites cannot completely replace traditional websites, but they can be useful for certain types of websites, which are explained below.

When Are Single-Page Websites Used?

Not all websites can be converted into a single-page website and some people think that swapping a multi-page site for a single-page site will have a negative impact on a company’s online visibility, but if the website falls into one or more of the categories below, a single-page website may be useful. Single-page websites may be used for the following purposes:

• Events - Websites created to promote an event using a promotional poster and invite people may only have one page. All of the important information, including the date, venue, how to register, key speakers, and additional information can be found on one page.
• Promoting products - A single-page website will allow all of the information about a product, such as the features, details, and pricing to be organised onto one page. This will help make a product stand out as the reader does not have to navigate through multiple pages. It has been reported that there is an increase in conversion rates when one-page websites are used to promote products.
• Portfolios - A single-page website will allow all of someone’s work or services to be displayed in one spot, helping it to stand out and allowing visitors to focus on the important information.
• Coming soon pages - These temporary pages are displayed before the website is launched. They may include a countdown until the website is launched and contact details.

SEO

Even though single-page websites have limited content and only one page can rank, there are opportunities for single-page websites to rank in the SERPs. Single-page websites often have a main keyword that spans the whole website. This could be the name of the product, event, portfolio, project, etc. Search engines are capable of displaying a subtopic of the single-page website in SERPs for matching search queries.

Also, the high amount of multimedia content can lead to long page loading times, which is bad for user experience and SEO because page speed is a minor Google ranking factor. In terms of search engine rankings, single-page websites are more likely to fall behind multi-page websites.

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